


Beyond the Hairpin Turn, or Just Before It

by alisonkay



Category: From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series
Genre: Drabble, F/M, Future Fic, Gen, General
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-29
Updated: 2014-05-29
Packaged: 2018-01-27 00:23:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1708070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alisonkay/pseuds/alisonkay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"How can you still believe in God?"</p><p>The question hangs in the air, a sparkling quality to the words, as if his vocalizing the thought was it’s own sort of faith—faith that Kate’s answer would be something to honestly consider.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Beyond the Hairpin Turn, or Just Before It

They’re laying back on the hood of a car—someone’s nice, new car by the look of it, and the owners are probably real choked about their baby being stolen—when Seth asks his burning question. It’s been in the back of his mind for as long as he’s known her, Kate is well aware, but it’s taken him this long to ask.

"How can you still believe in God?" 

The question hangs in the air, a sparkling quality to the words, as if his vocalizing the thought was it’s own sort of faith—faith that Kate’s answer would be something to honestly consider. She let’s the words roll around her mind for a moment, lifts the glass bottle in her hands to her lips and sips at the soda inside. She’s tried all the beers Seth has insisted would be ‘better than the last one, I swear!’, but she still prefers not to drink. 

Seth, on the other hand, is swigging back his beer like it’s ice cold water and he’s in the goddamn desert. He’s impatient with her, and she can read it in every line of his body. He wants to see her, wants to peer inside her head and know her. Maybe it has something to do with needing to predict her well enough that when they work, they work in sync. Maybe it’s because he could never quite figure out his last partner in crime.

"I can’t just stop believing because my life isn’t what I want it to be." 

Seth looks dumbfounded by her answer. He is, too, and he starts spluttering angrily a second later.

"You ca— _you can’t just stop_ …Katie-Cakes,” Kate winces at the nickname, the one Seth uses only when he’s mocking her or trying to make a point, “Your mom committed suicide, your dad lied about it, you were forced away from your whole life only to be kidnapped by criminals and then you watched your brother become a monster who killed your father! And now you’re—you’re here! With me!”

A startled laugh erupts from her chest, and Seth only looks all the more perturbed. Kate raises an eyebrow and stares at him a moment. As if in all the things that had happened to her, being stuck with him was the worst. In fact, that was just about the only silver lining, in Kate’s book, at least.

"Alright, look. It’s not like I can explain faith to you, it’s—well, it’s faith. You have to believe, and it’s a very singular feeling for every person,” The look on his face caustic, and she knows he’s about to explode into some tirade about the evils of the world, so she plows on quickly.

"When I was back home and I had my whole family and my perfect life laid out before my eyes—people were dying. People were suffering and hurting—they still are. I knew about them, all over the world, innocent people being punished for no good reason. I still had faith then. I knew that God was real—just like I know now. I can’t change my faith just because I’m one of those people now, just because the world flipped over like a ship on the ocean and I’m the one suffering, not some sad face on my expensive TV screen."

There is a beat of silence in which Seth absorbs her words and drinks some more from the bottle clutched tightly in his hands. Kate exhales slowly, registers surprise at the amount of relief she is feeling because he didn’t tell her she was stupid for believing. She cares what he thinks of her, despite everything.

"So you’re telling me…that people are going to suffer no matter what, because God says so? And you’re okay with you being the one suffering, because God caused it?" 

"Seth, no, what the fuck," The curse word slips passed her lips, and it makes Seth smirk. He always manages to weedle this out of her, this side of herself that she likes to pretend doesn’t exist. A preacher’s daughter doesn’t swear or spit or drink. Then again, not all preacher’s daughters had the pleasure of a Gecko’s company.

"I just mean—look, not everyone can always have a perfect life, okay? But maybe—maybe if I’m here now, hurting because of something bad in my life—maybe it means there is a girl like me somewhere who gets to keep her family and her future, you know? Like, it balances itself out or something. Like God holds a tally, and some people must suffer so others can have joy."

This time, Seth doesn’t make a smart comeback. In fact, he looks down-right thoughtful as he stares at the stars above them. She wonders, for a moment, if he is counting them, but then he looks back down to the dirt below him and she knows he was thinking about Richie—wherever Richie may be (or whatever he may be).

"Anyways," Kate leans over to nudge Seth’s shoulder, an honest smile resting on her lips. "My life isn’t terrible now. I can still see the good in it. I can still get up in the morning and watch the sun set at night. I still have you."

His eyes are wide and sad when he looks up at her. She thinks he could make her do anything he wanted with those eyes, but she doesn’t worry he’ll actually try. She also thinks he wants to believe her. There’s something about Seth that’s always wanted to believe that evil wasn’t all there was in the world, that someone, somewhere was looking out for his brother. 

"I s’pose my life ain’t so bad either, then," He drawls out, and Kate has to force herself not to fall into the trap that his words present. He is older, attractive, he took her under his wing, they’d lived in close quarters for near-on two years now. He had shown her a whole new side of the world, a whole new side of herself. She can’t let that poison her still girlish mind with thoughts of his big doe-like eyes. Or his other parts.

God may be real, but so are hormones, and she can’t fucking handle the scent of him while he’s this close to her.

"Alright, so," Kate announces broadly, turning away from Seth and hopping off of the front of the car. "Philosophical questions aside, we need to get on the road. Freddie’s meeting us at that place near the coast at noon tomorrow. It’s at least a six hour drive. If we take turns driving we can make if with loads of time to spare, and snag a good motel room. I’ll take the first shift!"

"One beer, Kate! One! A man can still drive after one beer!"

"Sure, you said that two months ago, and then fell off a porch."

"Okay, firstly the porch had a wonky board, you know that, you saw it. Secondly, I’d had four shots of tequila at that point!"

Kate scoffed loudly, “ _Exactly_. You told me you only had one beer!”


End file.
